Power driven cultivator

ABSTRACT

A power driven cultivator which comprises frames and a plurality of rollers which are rotatably mounted in the frames. A driving motor is operatively connected with the rollers and supported by the frames. The rollers are equipped with ribs and bearing means are secured to the frame for the rotatable mounting of the rollers. The latter are coupled together in pairs by means of chain wheels and chains to provide a rear pair of rollers and a front pair of rollers. The rear pair of the rollers is pulled and disposed in the frame at a gap behind two of the front drivable pair of rollers. A platform is disposed between the front pair of rollers supporting the driving motor and coupling means, chain wheels and a chain are operatively connected with the driving motor.

it Stas osenltrann et a1.

PUWER DEM/EN CiJlL'Tlli/ATUR [72] Inventors: Otto Rosenlrranz, Sonke-Nissen-Koog near Husum; Cornelius .lensen, Sollwitt near I-Iusum, both of Germany [73] Assignee: Martin HI. Ketelsen, Great Neck, NY. a

part interest [22] Filed: Apr. 3, 1969 [21] Appl.No.: 813,065

[30] Foreign Application Priority Date Apr. 3, 1968 Germany ..P 17 57 136.7

[52] US. Cl ..1172/52,172/119, 172/532, 173/548 [51] Int. Cl ..A0lb33/02,A0lb 35/28 [58] Field ofSearch v.172/52,1l9,123,532,537, 172/540, 548, 549,604

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 323,344 7/1885 La Dow ..172/604 X 357,911 2/1887 Eberhart.. 375,365 12/1887 La Dow... 751.768 2/1904 Wooster... 1,073,460 9/1913 Anderson. 1,225,547 5/1917 Willson.... 1,389,512 8/1921 .luopperi ..172/119 X 51 Jan. 5, 1972 1,802,556 4/1931 2,234,534 3/1941 2,342,030 2/1944 2,397,782 4/1946 2,650,460 9/1953 3,124,922 3/1964 Glass ....l72/383 X 3,511,318 5/1970 Boetto et a1 ..172/248 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Primary ExaminerClyde l. Coughenour Attorney-Ernest G. Montague ABSTRACT A power driven cultivator which comprises frames and a plurality of rollers which are rotatably mounted in the frames. A driving motor is operatively connected with the rollers and supported by the frames. The rollers are equipped with ribs and bearing means are secured to the frame for the rotatable mounting of the rollers. The latter are coupled together in pairs by means of chain wheels and chains to provide a rear pair of rollers and a front pair of rollers. The rear pair of the rollers is pulled and disposed in the frame at a gap behind two of the front drivable pair of rollers. A platform is disposed between the front pair of rollers supporting the driving motor and coupling means, chain wheels and a chain are operatively connected with the driving motor.

6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PAIENTEU m2 51872 SHEET 1 UF 3 INVENTORS OTTO ROSEN KRANZ "CORNELIUS JENSEN BY WW AT TORNE V.

PATENTED JAHZSISHZ 3 63? 025 SHEET [IF 2 INVENTORS OTTO ROSENKRANZ CORNELIUS JENSEN ATTORNEY.

rowan DRIVEN CULTIVATOR The present invention relates to a power driven cultivator. Cultivators have the purpose of breaking up dirt lumps disposed in ploughed fields.

Worm rollers are known, the individual ring discs of which, sitting solidly on an axle, are equipped at the outer periphery with threadlike obliquely disposed segment cutters and in which a ring is disposed between each pair of adjacent discs. These intermediate discs are equipped with equal.segment cutters as those of the rings; they have, however, a larger diameter than the latter and are equipped with flanges projecting in axial direction, which flanges are suspended in the laterally adjacent rings, so that the rings can yield during their ground engagement up to the abutment at the adjacent rims. These worm rollers have the drawback, that the segment cutters are too sharp and the rings break easily. A roller with sharp cutters cannot be used to roll young green shoots in the spring time and cannot be used as subsoil packer. Furthermore, such roller cuts through the field lumps, presses down and crumples insufficiently the latter. It is not suitable to permit that the segment cutters run in a zigzag line, because in the angles clay lumps could set in, which interferes with the crumpling effect of the roller. Furthermore, the known worm roller must be drawn by a tractor over the field. The use of the tractor on a ploughed field brings about great disadvantages. By the heavy pressure of the tractor weight, the crumpled layer of the soil is hardened and crusted in the track of the wheels of the tractor, which causes a strong evaporation of the humidity in the soil. Beyond that, not only valued water reserves get lost from the soil, but also the airing of the soil is strongly interfered with. In the tractor tracks the life of the soil bacteria is to a great extent extinguished and thus the so important soil fermentation, important for the growth of the plant, is destroyed. A repeated tractor use during the seed formation leads to appreciable losses in the harvest output. During use of the tractor as a pulling machine a great part of the required fuel is used for the transportation of a heavy tractor and only a small part of the fuel is used for the pulling of the cultivating devices.

In connection with rollers having round axles, a transmission of the rotary movement of the shaft to the loose rings is not possible. Furthermore, at its inner bores of such rollers a very high wear takes place.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a cultivator which avoids the mentioned drawbacks.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cultivator wherein a motorized land roller is created having a clod-reducing effect, which can be used also as motorized under soil packer.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a cultivator wherein the latter has its own motoric drive, so that in addition to its actual use as a roller or undersoil packer, simultaneously it can be used also as a pulling machine, for instance for a manure sprayer and as a harrow.

Preferably the cultivator designed in accordance with the present invention comprises a plurality of rollers equipped with ribs which are rotatably mounted in bearings disposed on frames and which are coupled together in pairs by means of chain wheels and chains. The rear, drawn pair ofrollers is disposed in a gap behind the two forward drivable pair of rollers, disposed spaced apart from each other. A driving motor is disposed on a platform between the two front pairs of rollers. The motor drives over a coupling, chained wheels, and a chain drives a shaft, which in turn can be coupled by foot lever couplings with shaft ends, the foot lever being arranged on both sides of the seat. At the shaft ends, chain wheels are disposed, which drive other chain wheels by means of chains, the latter chain wheels being arranged on the shafts of the for wardmost rollers.

By example, on the shafts of the individual rollers are Secured individual spoke rings at the outer periphery with ribs and between each pair of these spoke rings, a spokeless ring, i.e., a ring. These rings without spokes are likewise equipped with ribs, and have, however, a larger dliameter than the spoke rings and are equipped with flanges projecting in axial direction, which are suspended in the laterally adjacent spoke rings, so that the rings without spokes can yield upon engagement with the soil up to the abutment to the rings.

In accordance with the present invention the ribs are arranged at the periphery of the spoke rings and of the rings without spokes in a wave pattern.

The width of the ribs with spoke rings and of the rings without spokes can amount at the outer periphery to about 20 percent of the width of the spoke rings, and the height of the ribs about 70 percent of the width of the spoke rings.

In accordance with the present invention, the ribs of two rings without spokes are disposed in series and freely running have different wave lengths.

On the other hand the ribs of two spoke rings coupled in series can have the same wavelengths. They are, however, set off relative to each other, so that the tracks of the spoke wheels running one behind the other are displaced in the soil for about relative to each other and overlap each other advantageously.

Suitably the individual rollers have triangular shafts, on which spoke rings with three spokes each are disposed, the hub of which has a triangularly shaped recess.

The front and rear frame can, for example, be connected together by means of a suspension device, which on the one hand is securable by means of two bolt links at the frame of the rear rollers, and on the other hand by a cross claw at the frame of the forward roller.

Suitably tubular bushings can be arranged on the forward and on the rear frame, into which bushings the straight ends of the forks of running wheels for the street transportation are insertable from below.

At the narrow sides of the forward frame a pulling eye each can be arranged.

On the rear side of the front frame eyes can be arranged, which serve for the suspension of a manure sprayer.

At the rear side of the rear frame eyes can be arranged which serve the securing of a barrow bar.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention, which is given by example only, will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a top plan view of a cultivator;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation seen from the left side of FIG. 1, whereby the direction of movement is indicated by an arrow;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view indicating the manual operation of the motor coupling;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of a transportation wheel;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of a roller;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of a roller;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary top plan view of a pair of rollers; and

FIG. 8 is a section through a rib, however, at a different scale whereby the end positions upon rotation are indicated in dotted lines.

Referring now to the drawings, the cultivator comprises rollers I and 2 which are rotatably mounted in bearings 3 which are provided in frames 4 and 5. Each pair of rollers 1 and 2 are coupled together by means of chains 6 which run over chain wheels 7. The frames 4 and 5 have on the top a pallet 8, for example of wood. From the front frame 4 leads a suspension device 9 to the rear frame 5 of the rear pulled pair of rollers. It is securable by means of two bolt links at the rear frame 5. The displacements of the two frames 4 and 5 relative to each other are prevented by a crosswise positioned claw II and the by two bolt links I0. At the forward and rear frame 4 and 5 are arranged four tubular bushings I2, into which the straight ends of the forks I3 of running wheels 14 are insertable from below for street transportation, after the frames 4 and 5 are lifted by means of a jack (not shown). The forks 13 are selectively swingable in the tubular bushings ll2, so that the running wheels 14 can be adjusted to all driving directions. For the street transportation the rear frame 5 is suspendible by means of its suspension device 9 and the eyes on the narrow sides of the forward frame 4. Eyes 16, which are arranged at the rear longitudinal side of the forward frame 4, serve for suspension of the manure sprayer 17. A harrow (not shown) can be suspended at the rear frame 5 by means of eyes 18 on the device by means of the suspension bars (not shown). A driving motor 19 is disposed on a platform 20 between the two forward pairs of rollers. It drives over a coupling 21, chain wheels 22 and 23, and a chain 24 drives a shaft 25, which in turn by means of releasable couplings 29 and 30 can be connected with shaft ends 31 by foot levers 27 and 28 disposed on both sides of the seat 26. Chain wheels 32 are arranged at the ends of the shaft end 31. The chain wheels 32 drive chain wheels 34 by means of chains 33. The chain wheels 34 are arranged on the axles of the forward rollers 1.

The roller 1 and 2 comprises a triangular shaft 35, the cylindrical ends of which rest in the bearings 3. On the triangular shaft 35 are mounted without spacing alternately spoke rings 36 and spokeless rings 37, i.e., rings without spokes, whereby the spoke rings 36 have a hub 38 having a cross section complementary to the triangular shaft 35, so that they can immovably sit on the triangular shaft 35 and can rotate jointly with the triangular shaft 35. On both ends are arranged rigidly screwed spoke rings 36. The rings 37 having no spokes disposed between the spoke rings 36 have in known manner a larger diameter than that of the spoke rings 36 and are equipped with flanges 39 projecting in axial direction, which flanges 39 are mounted between two of the laterally adjacent spoke rings 36, so that the rings 37 having no spokes can yield upon soil contact up to abutment with the adjacent rings. On the periphery of the spoke rings 36 and the rings 37 without spokes are arranged high ribs 40 which are disposed in wavelines. These ribs 40 are wide at the outer peripheral plane and are sharp edged on the corners. Since always two rollers 1 and 2 are coupled together by means of the chain wheels 7 and the chain 6 to a pair of rollers, the phases of the wavelines of the forward and rear spoke rings 36 are in a dependent relationship from each other. The rear spoke rings 36 are turned relative to the front spoke rings, for 180. They are set off rela tive to each other such that the tracks formed in the soil by the forward and rear spoke rings are displaced relative to each other on the soil for about [80. The ribs 40 of the rear spoke rings 36 do not then run in the track of the front spoke rings, rather the spoke rings cross each other (see FIG. 7, left half).

On the other hand, the rings 37 having no spokes run freely with the axial flanges 39 of the spoke rings 36. The wavelengths of the ribs 41 and 42 of the rims having no spokes and running one behind the other are therefore different, so that the rib 42 of a rear ring having no spokes cannot run into the rib track of the ring running in front thereof. In this manner a good crumping effect is obtained also by means of the rings which have no spokes (see FIG. 7, right half).

The application and operation of the cultivator of the present invention is as follows:

If the cultivator is taken apart into the front roller and the rear roller, it can be moved, by example, by means of a tractor to the field to be then made ready for receiving the seeds, where, as shown in FIG. 1, it is joined with a manure sprayer 17 and a harrow (not shown). The operation is the same as in connection with a motor driven vehicle. The driver operates from his seat 26 the coupling 21, so that the shaft driving the pair of rollers can rotate. For controlling of the rollers the drive can be interrupted by releasing the coupling 29 or 30, as it is required for maintenance of the direction of movement.

Upon termination of working on the field, the forward and the rear rollers are separated. Upon lifting of the two rollers by means of ajack, the forks 13 of the running wheels 14 are inserted into the tubular bushings 12 and the rear roller is suspended by means of its suspension device 9 in an eye 15 on one of the narrow sides of the forward frame 4. By means of a tractor the two ribbed rollers suspended one behind the other can be transported on a street.

The cultivator can be used, however, also with a subsoil packer in order to push out again in the spring the seeds which no longer are firmly set in the loose soil as a result of frost release, whereby a new root formation is brought about. A very advantageous use of the cultivator as a subsoil packer is furthermore also possible in light soil, because due to the crosswise cutting over of the ribs, a particularly effective subsoil density is assured, so that the light soil becomes more capable of suction, and the available ground water reserves are sucked up more easily for the benefit of fruit, as well as also being able to be better stored. Furthermore, the cultivator can be used also as subsoil packer very advantageously on wet or marshy meadows and willows, on which a tractor cannot move, in order to push down again the turf, which has been separated by frost effect from subsoil, so that the grass roots are connected again with the subsoil, arrive at a new spreading and the meadow or willow is brought into a good yielding culture state.

The cultivator planes as a prepath device by means of a connected harrow the heavy soil which has coarse lumps (as winter furrow) completely ready for seeding. Lumps which require a further reduction do not remain. The insertion of the seeds can take place immediately behind the combined device, whereby the often occurring rain effect on a half finished seed field is excluded. The manure can be sprayed in the same working step and can be inserted by a harrow. The finely divided upper layer prevents from now on any water evaporation.

Since the motorized cultivator can be joined together to an appreciable width, it is in the first place of great advantage for the working of large land areas and this is achieved with an appreciable saving on fuel, with a reduction of the individual process steps and a saving on personnel. The motorized cultivator can serve on the land as a pulling machine. Manure sprayers and harrows can be joined, so that three different operations can be performed in one working step by one person simultaneously. Even if the motorized cultivator is applied as a pulling machine, it does not leave any damaging air track pressure, rather it improves simultaneously and appreciably the soil structure.

The wavelike rib gives the spoke rings the necessary soil adherence, the necessary hold in the soil for the motor drive, so that the rings cannot slip on the particular place. No clay can adhere in the wide rim recesses, particularly since the continuous displacements of the spoke rings and of the rings having no spokes relative to each other, which take place in view of the different diameters of adjacent rings, do not permit soiling of the rings,

This rib is best suitable as a subsoil packer. Since the pressure tracks of the ribs of the front roller and rear roller, running along a serpentine line, cross each other advantageously diagonally, a far improved subsoil density is achieved in connection with a conventional linelike front wheel operating subsoil packer. Since the rib of the cultivator according to the present invention does not terminate in a sharp cutting edge, but rather is blunt, the cultivator is best suitable to roll out green seeds, that means the winter seeds in spring. Furthermore, the wave-shaped rib renders the rim safe against breaking, while axial ribs break easily and move away the soil.

While rings mounted loosely on a round axle have a very high wear in the middle bores, rings which are mounted rigidly on a triangular shaft have no wear in the center bores and on the shaft. Since in a cultivator with rigidly mounted rings slight wear can occur only on the outside on the rings for years of operation, such roller has a much longer life than a roller with only loose rings.

It is very advantageous in connection with the cultivator that the rings having no spokes can yield in front of a soil lump only so far, upwardly until their flanges abut the upper parts of the rim of the adjacent spoke rings. This means that in the cultivator the ring without spokes can be lifted only so far and can yield only until the lowermost ring limit is aligned with he lower limit of the spoke rings. If the lump is so large that the rings must be lifted still higher and must yield, in this moment nearly the entire roller weight is applied to the lump, so that the latter will be crushed by all means. By the flange locking the roller operates then partly as a stiff roller and crushes on the lump with a much larger weight than the weight of the individual rings, which engage the lump. Such pressure effect cannot be obtained by such rollers in which all rings are suspended loosely on a rotary axis, and the escape of the rings is brought about merely by the large center bores, which are too large.

The technical progress of the cultivator designed in accordance with the present invention resides in the fact that it has a large area output and does not leave any damaging track pressure. It uses even on loose or lumpy land little fuel, because it does not penetrate as deep in the soil as a tractor. A tractor is not required and is superfluous in the seed preparation on a rollable land. The lumps on the field are extensively reduced and simultaneously the soil is evened out. In sandy soils the cultivator designed in accordance with the present invention can be applied with a subsoil packer and also on marshy meadows it serves advantageously for the soil im provement. For exploitation of the motor force a harrow and manure sprayer can simultaneously be carried therewith and thus three working steps can be performed simultaneously by one single operator. The pallet disposed above the rollers offers space for the transportation of bags containing manure as reserve material.

The running wheels, indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 2, are not used during the work on the field, rather only for the transportation to and from the working place.

While we have disclosed one embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is given by example only and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. A power driven cultivator comprising a rear frame,

a rear pair of rear rollers disposed one behind the other parallel to each other and rotatably mounted in said rear frame,

rear chain means rotatably coupling said rear pair of rear rollers together,

a front frame disposed spaced from and in front of said rear frame,

means for connecting said rear frame to said front frame,

said front frame being laterally wider than said rear frame,

two pairs of front rollers rotatably mounted in said front frame, said two pairs being laterally spaced apart and said front rollers of each pair of front rollers being disposed in parallel one behind the other,

front chain means rotatably coupling said front rollers of each ofsaid two pairs of front rollers together,

a platform mounted in said front frame between said laterally spaced-apart pairs of front rollers,

a driving motor disposed on said platform,

means for releasably coupling said driving motor with one front roller of each of said two pairs of front rollers,

each of said rollers comprising a shaft and a plurality of rings disposed concentrically about said shaft and each ring having a peripheral earth-engaging rib, said shafts mounted in a corresponding frame,

said rings include spoke rings mounted rigidly on said shaft and having spokes, and spokeless rings having a larger diameter than that of said spoke rings and including axially projecting flanges mounted between two of said spoke rings,

said ribs have a substantially flat outermost periphery and are laterally waveformed and continuous around the en tire periphery of said rings,

said spoke rings of each of the rollers in each pair of rollers are aligned one behind the other,

said spokeless rings of each of the rollers in each pair of rollers are aligned one behind the other, said ribs of opposite disposed corresponding spoke rings of a pair of rollers being turned in waveform relative to each other and have the same wavelength, and said ribs of opposite disposed corresponding spokeless rings of a pair of rollers having different wavelengths. 2. The cultivator, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said ribs have a cross section bounded by said flat outermost periphery and arcuate concave sides extending therefrom. 3. The power driven cultivator, as; set forth in claim 1, wherein the width of said ribs of said spoke rings and of said spokeless rings amounts to about 20 percent of the total width of said spoke rings, and the height of said ribs amounts to about 70 percent of the width of said spoke rings. 4. The power driven cultivator, as. set forth in claim 1, wherein said shafts are triangular shafts engaging said spoke rings, the latter have three spokes and a hub which has a triangular recess. 5. The power driven cultivator, as set. forth in claim 1, which includes eyes disposed at the rear side of the front frame of said frames, said eyes being adapted to suspend a manual sprayer thereon. 6. The power driven cultivator, as set forth in claim 1, which includes eyes disposed at the rear side of the rear frame of said frames, said eyes being adapted for securing a harrow bar thereon.

* =l l= =l= 

1. A power driven cultivator comprising a rear frame, a rear pair of rear rollers disposed one behind the other parallel to each other and rotatably mounted in said rear frame, rear chain means rotatably coupling said rear pair of rear rollers together, a front frame disposed spaced from and in front of said rear frame, means for connecting said rear frame to said front frame, said front frame being laterally wider than said rear frame, two pairs of front rollers rotatably mounted in said front frame, said two pairs being laterally spaced apart and said front rollers of each pair of front rollers being disposed in parallel one behind the other, front chain means rotatably coupling said front rollers of each of said two pairs of front rollers together, a platform mounted in said front frame between said laterally spaced-apart pairs of front rollers, a driving motor disposed on said platform, means for releasably coupling said driving motor with one front roller of each of said two pairs of front rollers, each of said rollers comprising a shaft and a plurality of rings disposed concentrically about said shaft and each ring having a peripheral earth-engaging rib, said shafts mounted in a corresponding frame, said rings include spoke rings mounted rigidly on said shaft and having spokes, and spokeless rings having a larger diameter than that of said spoke rings and including axially projecting flanges mounted between two of said spoke rings, said ribs have a substantially flat outermost periphery and are laterally waveformed and continuous around the entire periphery of said rings, said spoke rings of each of the rollers in each pair of rollers are aligned one behind the other, said spokeless rings of each of the rollers in each pair of rollers are aligned one behind the other, said ribs of opposite disposed corresponding spoke rings of a pair of rollers being turned in waveform 180* relative to each other and have the same wavelength, and said ribs of opposite disposed corresponding spokeless rings of a pair of rollers having different wavelengths.
 2. The cultivator, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said ribs have a cross section bounded by said flat outermost periphery and arcuate concave sides extending therefrom.
 3. The power driven cultivator, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the width of said ribs of said spoke rings and of said spokeless rings amounts to about 20 percent of the total width of said spoke rings, and the height of said ribs amounts to about 70 percent of the width of said spoke rings.
 4. The power driven cultivator, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shafts are triangular shafts engaging said spoke rings, the latter have three spokes and a hub which has a triangular recess.
 5. The power driven cultivator, as set forth in claim 1, which includes eyes disposed at the rear side of the front frame of said frames, said eyes being adapted to suspend a manual sprayer thereon.
 6. The power driven cultivator, as set forth in claim 1, which includes eyes disposed at the rear side of the rear frame of said frames, said eyes being adapted for securing a harrow bar thereon. 